Lower Manhattan: Federal Reserve Building

The security here is tighter than at the airport. The vault itself is five flights down and the view inside the vault is dazzling, with billions of dollars of gold bullion displayed. The present for taking the tour provided is a bag of shredded money.

The Federal Reserve building is a modeled after a Florentine palace that was designed by York and Sawyer. Its hallways are austere stone walls with no place to hide. In order to hold the weight of the gold, the vault rests on bedrock 80 feet down, 50 feet below sea level.

Thirty percent of the world's gold is located in this vault. While most of the US gold is kept in other reserve banks, the NY Federal Reserve Bank is the keeper of gold that belongs to other countries, the names of which remain secret.

Free tours of the vault are available Monday to Friday. Advance sign-up on their website or by phone is required. No personal belongings are allowed on the tour and there are lockers provided for them. In addition to the gold vaults, there are exhibitions. Be rest assured there are always security persons nearby to answer any questions you might have.